Kaput

'Compelling' Guardian 'Eloquent and comprehensive' Financial Times 'Excellent' The Telegraph 'Astonishing' The Times 'An eye-opener' Gavin Esler Until recently, Germany appeared to be a paragon of economic and political success. Angela Merkel was widely seen as the true 'leader of the free world', and Germany's export-driven economic model seemed to deliver prosperity. But recent events - from Germany's dependence on Russian gas to its car industry's delays in the race to electric - have undermined this view. In Kaput, Wolfgang M nchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany's economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. The neo-mercantilist policies of the German state, driven by close connections between the country's industrial and political elite, have left Germany technologically behind over-reliant on authoritarian Russia and China - and with little sign of being able to adapt to the digital realities of the 21st century. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the